Iraqi government

Humanitarian expert Stafford Clarry describes how the demilitarized demarkation line essentially upended the economy of Kurdistan, which had been part of Iraq’s heavily socialized economy where people depended on rationing, set prices, state electricity, and a centralized economy.

Humanitarian expert Stafford Clarry describes the state of agriculture in the Kurdish areas of Northern Iraq after the First Gulf War and the return of refugees to the region. He also paints the picture of a serious fuel crisis at the time and smuggling efforts to bring over necessary supplies to Kurdistan. Government subsidized oil in Iraq proved to be big business for Kurdish businessmen and Turkish truck drivers traveling into the semi-autonomous region.

Humanitarian expert Stafford Clarry describes that once the Kurdistan Regional Government was established in 1992, the Iraqi government blocked many international NGOs from operating in the Kurdistan region.

PhD student Hemn Merany recalls the Newroz (new year) in 1990, when he was living in Kawergosk concentration camp outside of Erbil after the Iraqi government destroyed Kurdish villages in the area. He was arrested as an eight year-old after lighting tires on fire to celebrate the festival, not knowing what he was doing was strictly forbidden by the Baathist regime.